Larry wrote up the following analysis of the draft! It’s an excellent read. I added an evaluation of his team, noted in italics below. Enjoy! And thank you to everyone for making the draft fun and successful!
Lasershow–
Coming into his first draft with a lot of holes to fill, Sean did an admirable job of flipping some of his draft picks for immediate help. In a blockbuster pre-draft trade in which he gave up the first pick in the draft, he added a franchise SS in Lindor and three serviceable players in Smoak, J. Bradley, and Yelich. Sean also grabbed some much needed pitching help giving up his #7, 9, and 11 picks for Pomeranz, A. Bradley, and Rivero. These were excellent deals that restocked his roster.
With his first actual pick (#2 – 9th overall), Sean went with Willie Calhoun. The word is that if Calhoun gets regular playing time – he will hit. He followed with his extra bonus pick at the end of round 2 – Zack Godley – a highly regarded SP, and then got Travis Shaw in round 3 — all of these were solid picks.
With Schoop already at 2B on the roster, his #4 – Scooter Gennett – seemed a stretch, but Sean rebounded with Austin Barnes and Zach Britton at #5 and 6. To me, Cuthbert was a reach at #10, but A. Sanchez and T. Chatwood were strong pitching picks at 12 and 14. Sean did tab two young Red Sox catchers near the end of the draft, but, overall, the bottom few picks were pretty forgettable.
Being on the clock in the heat of the moment can be pretty harrowing. And I felt like Sean struggled a bit in the late rounds. But for his first draft, Sean did well. The experience of this draft will enable him to be even better prepared for the next one. His willingness to trade picks to fill some of his needs bode well for his future. I believe his team is definitely headed up and moving in the right direction.
Thunderwolves–
The Thunderwolves offseason was puzzling. Kyle had the second pick in the draft, but spurned myriad trade offers for multiple players (and draft picks) for that round one pick. If the strategy was to hold on to the pick, then I assumed the idea was to draft young talent and try to rebuild with a younger roster. And with that #1 pick, Kyle chose Hoskins – a very strong choice.
But in the second round he went with K. Seager – a player not even frozen? Then the Thunderwolves went with Ohtani (a universally hyped, but as yet unknown talent) who is unfreezable? Kyle also froze a couple of older players in Beltre and Braun. If left unfrozen, would Beltre have been drafted in the first three rounds? Might Kyle have been better served to go with younger players? Time will tell.
In round 4, Kyle drafted T. Anderson at SS and then chose a RP in Familia (who has had some outstanding success in the past). He might have gone a bit early for Claudio (who probably won’t be a closer this year), but he came back with a strong group of mid round picks in Bruce, Eaton, Thames, and Dickerson. They offered very good value for the spots where they were drafted. Eaton in particular stands out as a strong pick. He made a nice speculative move with F. Hernandez in round 17, with C. Gonzalez (who just re-signed with the Rockies) at 19, and J. Polanco at #20. Even his last pick, Albert Pujols, could provide good value as a DH.
Even though I’m not sure what the plan is for the Thunderwolves, I thought Kyle’s draft improved and got much stronger as he went along. However, with so many top flight teams vying for the title, was this draft enough for his team to show improvement in the standings?
PhoeGnomes–
After a disappointing finish last year, the Gnomes came into this draft locked and loaded. As usual, Heather was ready to pounce if the right deal came her way. A conditional trade between her and the Armadillos was foiled quickly by the first two picks (and this development also voided another conditional deal between the Armadillos and the Lasershow). Heather was unfazed though, and went to work.
She gleefully grabbed up a trade offer from the Possums for the fifth pick (for a 2019 first rounder). And that enabled her to go back – to back – to back in the first round and add Devers, Olson, and I. Happ — what a haul! Heather followed with DeJong and L. Weaver – excellent picks in rounds two and three.
She then swooped up R. Acuna at #7 (unfreezable – but capable of a potentially strong season for a contending team like the Gnomes) and then took a flyer on M. Cabrera at #8. He’s a guy she could afford to gamble on who could pay strong dividends. J. Montgomery was an astute choice in round 11, and Inciarte was very good value at #15. The Gnomes do seem to be overloaded at 3B, and I think they should definitely consider a trade there (haha).
Just so Heather won’t get the big head, I’ll point out that Hedges for backup catcher at #5 was maybe a little high, but, good grief, the PhoeGnomes look scary good. They have nice balance, are young, and seem to have few weaknesses. Congrats to Heather for an outstanding draft. The Gnomes should be a force this season!
Legion–
An uncharacteristic second division finish last year must have haunted the Legion all off season. But Chris soothed some of his anger by dealing for the top pick in the draft. Bellinger was pretty clearly the top choice for most of us, and Chris wasted no time in tabbing him with the honor. He should be an outstanding franchise type player for a long time.
In round 3, CP selected K. Zimmer, the Cleveland speedster. Then he was able to immediately grab another OF – Souza – via a trade with the Possums. Both of these were solid picks.
Chris also managed to get M. Andujar, the spring training phenom in the 4th round. He then selected N. Williams at 7 as well as three straight pitchers – Clevinger, R. Lopez, and Snell at 8, 9, and 10. All of these were solid picks in the mid rounds. After a nice future type pick of D. Fisher at #12, the final group of picks were very pedestrian – and some have already been cut as CP has begun to massage his roster to make a run at the title.
The Legion are very strong, and they don’t seem to have many weaknesses. Catcher remains to be a problem spot for them, and they don’t seem interested in using a high pick to stabilize that position (maybe because the talent level drops off quickly). But they are loaded everywhere else. Well, they may be a little weak at 1B – no depth at all (haha). Position player depth seems to be their only trouble spot. But if they avoid injuries, the Legion should be very right in the middle of the pennant race.
Possums–
Because of trades, the Possums ended up with only two picks in the first four rounds. Rick’s trade of his first round pick this year (number 5 overall) was a bit of a head scratcher. There must not have been anybody in the pool that he considered first round material, since he traded the pick for only a first rounder in 2019 rather than for a #1 plus an additional early round pick which is more the normal asking price. The result was that he picked only two players in rounds one through four: Brinson and J. Villar. Rick traded up to get Brinson, and he certainly seems a worthy pick, but Villar – coming off a horrible season last year – will have to rebound to get closer to his 2016 production for this pick to pay off.
After the slow start, the Possums came back nicely with lots of solid choices. Neris, Cespedes, and Treinen were quickly added. R. McMahon at #7 was a great pick. E. Suarez, Roark, J.A. Happ, and Teheran seemed to be decent values in their mid round slots.
There were possibly safer choices at SP available when Samardjiza was picked at number 6, but he does offer the potential of great strikeout totals. I thought Gregorius was an excellent choice at #13. And Rick’s final pick – C. Kelly – is possibly a good future catcher. Like a couple of other teams, the Possums are pretty weak at catcher, so Kelly could be the answer down the road if he is protected.
The Possums have a strong roster with a very capable pitching staff. They should be in good shape to make some noise in the pennant race. However, they are one of the oldest teams in the league, and they will have to avoid injuries, which are often commonplace as players age. Will they stay healthy enough to be a force?
Armadillos –
[Written by Jeff:]
The Armadillos used a trade with the Goofballs to reload on young talent while hoping to remain competitive in the short term. Larry needed a restock after a competitive 2017 in which he came up just short. The Armadillos parted with Anthony Rizzo in return for Trevor Story and a first round pick. The move alleviated a chronic surplus at first base and may offer an answer at shortstop.
Larry used the additional pick to pair Victor Robles with Amed Rosario. Robles is solid all-around and is one of the best prospects in the game. He does not have the proven upside of Bellinger or Hoskins, but he’s in the same area. Rosario is more focused on speed. He has some health questions but offers more upside at a position that the Armadillos have struggled to manage for years.
Other early picks include Ozzie Albies, J.T. Realmuto, and Francisco Mejia. These players are all young and unproven but have considerable room to grow. Larry can rely on his current stars and evaluate these players throughout the season. If just one or two make improvements, they can be freeze candidates and possibly future stars.
The Armadillos went for depth in the mid-to-late rounds and got solid contributors like Carlos Santana, DJ LeMahieu, and Rich Hill. None of these players are likely to be future freezes but they offer plenty of depth and stability to balance the young players taken early.
It’s hard to find a bad pick in this draft. Johnny Cueto offers some upside, and more interchangeable players like Jarrod Dyson are already gone for younger, better options like Delino DeShields. Even Zach Davies, who drew snickers from the room, had seventeen wins last year.
This draft is an example of efficient resource allocation and a balance of risk and reward. It’s a lesson on how to build and maintain a contending team.
[End of Jeff’s take]
Goofballs–
Kevin pulled off the second blockbuster of the offseason by bringing one of his favorite players – A. Rizzo – home to Chicago. The Armadillos reluctantly traded their All-Star 1B for a needed SS in T. Story and to accumulate extra draft picks to enable them to grab several young players who they hope will be productive in seasons to come.
With his only pick in the first three rounds, Kevin chose A. Reyes – a potential pitching star of the future. After that, he then methodically began selecting help in areas of need. In rounds 4-10, he filled many of those needs with E. Rosario, Melancon, Grandal, D. Bundy, T. Walker, A. Russell, and Brach. These were all decent picks chosen strategically.
Kipnis seemed a reach at #11, but he has at least had a hot spring training. Arcia at #13 and J. Nelson at 18 were both nice picks. Even Kevin’s bottom picks seemed to offer a glimmers of talent, and Lincecum with the last pick of the entire draft was an intriguing choice.
Overall, the Goofballs are one of the best balanced teams in terms of position players. And their starting pitching appears to be improved. Their bullpen is definitely suspect however, and that could prove costly.
Kevin (whose name pronunciation skills may land him a gig at the National Spelling Bee) guided his expansion club to a tie for second last year, and he has quickly built the team into one that may now be able to compete for a title each year. Can he nudge his team forward across the finish line or will they have to be satisfied with the long time Cubs mantra of “Wait til next year?”
Lannisters–
After three straight championship seasons (three straight!), the mighty Lannisters decided their pitching staff was getting too old (or too injured) and they went all in on drafting their next generation of pitchers. Starting with their first round all the way through the 10th round, it was wall to wall pitchers for Jeff. It seems like an unprecedented streak of pitchers being drafted consecutively by one team.
The run started with L. Castillo, who was highly regarded, and concluded with Charlie Morton, who had a great year with Houston in 2017. In between, Jeff added Faria, Stroman, Buehler, Lamet, Lester, Rodon, plus two RPs in W. Davis and K. Herrera. This was a stellar group of pitchers to go to one team. Jeff also traded up to get the Possums #3 and take N. Cruz. He is just the type of DH that Jeff has employed so successfully over the years (such as Big Papi).
The Lannisters finally got a position player at #11 in M. Chapman – a strong pick at that spot. Barreto at #12 could be a star future addition to that vaunted infield. Fernando Rodney at #14 is older than dirt (but not as old as Big Sexy), however, he was effective last year. J. Minaya at 15 is the closer in waiting with the White Sox if Soria falters. There were no wasted picks for the Lannisters, and even the final four – M. Carpenter, Gausman, Lucroy, and A. Verdugo offer some potential.
Of course, the champions could afford to go in this direction because they have the most talented group of frontline position players in the league. Imagine a left side of the infield that has Bryant, C. Seager, Machado, and Segura. And an outfield that includes Trout, Harper, Betts, Ozuna, Upton, and Buxton.
Their only weaknesses appear to be at backup catcher (cry me a river) and some aging at 2B. But Cano hit 26 HRs with 90 RBIs while slashing.288/.341/.474 last year. Not exactly horrible.
The reigning champs are still loaded and an excellent draft only solidified their status. At this point they are assuredly the favorites until someone is able to actually catch them. Will this finally be the year? If their pitching comes through…it could be that the trophy will stay in Georgia for yet another year.
Congrats to Jeff and the Lannisters on the 2017 championship! And best of luck to all the teams trying to win it this year!
Dirt Mountain Baseball League 